Stornoway Executes Mandate Letter With Lead Arrangers For Renard Project Financing

NEWS RELEASE: Project Permitting on Track for Completion in 2012.

September 6, 2012: Montreal, Quebec – Stornoway Diamond Corp. (Stock Profile – TSX: SWY) announced it has entered into a Mandate Letter with seven financial institutions (the “Mandated Lead Arrangers”) in connection with a potential senior debt financing for Stornoway’s 100% owned Renard Diamond Project.

The Mandated Lead Arrangers are Bank of Montreal, Caterpillar Financial, Export Development Canada, Investissement Québec, Nedbank Capital Limited (London Branch), Société Générale (Canada Branch) and The Bank of Nova Scotia. The Mandate Letter establishes the terms under which the Mandated Lead Arrangers have been appointed to arrange senior loans of up to US$475 million. It does not constitute a commitment to underwrite, provide or secure financing, which remains subject to due diligence, the completion of definitive loan documentation, credit and other approvals, and the terms and conditions of the term sheet attached to the Mandate Letter, among other things.

In connection with the Mandate Letter, Bank of Montreal is appointed Administrative Agent and Modeling Bank, Caterpillar Financial is appointed Insurance Agent, Nedbank Capital Limited (London Branch) is appointed Marketing Bank, Société Générale (Canada Branch) is appointed Documentation Agent, and The Bank of Nova Scotia is appointed Technical Agent, Trustee and Account Bank.

Stornoway is pursuing a financing strategy for the Renard Diamond Project based on a combination of senior project debt, equity and financing options tied to future diamond production. The $475 million senior debt financing contemplated by the Mandate Letter is in the context of an overall financing plan that includes provisions for the totality of the project’s initial pre-production capital cost, as defined in the November 2011 Feasibility Study, working capital requirements, escalation, financing costs and a pre-arranged contingent cost over-run facility.

Matt Manson, Stornoway’s President and CEO commented: “Our objective in financing Renard is to minimize the capital that has to be raised to construct the project, and to minimize the equity portion of that capital. The Mandate Letter announced today is an excellent first step in this direction, and reflects well on the strength of the project and the credentials of Stornoway’s operating team. We continue to be greatly assisted by the support of our principal shareholders, in particular DIAQUEM Inc., a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, with whom we entered into a $100 million credit support agreement in April 2011 and who hold a 25% pre-emptive right to subscribe to new equity. With our principal regulatory approvals expected shortly, financing arrangements proceeding and road construction ongoing, Stornoway is well positioned to follow-through on the development of Renard starting next year.”

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